


The Mysterious Agent Grim

by SherlockMalfoy



Series: Iron Squib and Other Magical Tales [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Minor Angst, Minor Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Not Iron Man 3 Compliant, relationships are background, temporary major character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-18 17:09:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17584913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SherlockMalfoy/pseuds/SherlockMalfoy
Summary: After his son Tony makes the sacrifice play and personally escorts a nuke to the Chitauri on behalf of Earth, Harry loses control so spectacularly that it gets people killed. His only options are Azkaban or... Join the Avengers on behalf of the global magical community. Unfortunately both his son and the man he's been madly in love with are both on the team. What's a wizard to do but hide his identity under a hood.





	The Mysterious Agent Grim

**Author's Note:**

> Ignore Iron Man 3. It doesn't exist, but some stuff from it still does. Also, since this was written steam of consciousness and with no regard for most of the MCU timeline, pretend that Dr. Strange happened like, WAAAAAAY earlier than it actually did in the MCU.

 

It had started, as all things for Harry Potter did, with an important message.

Or in this case an important call.

He'd been sitting in a meeting with the goblins, sorting out his various business investments and finally getting around to changing some information with the Lovegood vaults that Xenophilius left to him - apparently at Luna's request in a rather trippy potion induced dream - so that if Tony liked he could have access to them despite being a squib. International law stated squibs couldn't open an account, but could inherit from blood relations in the event any of their own children may be born magical.

Harry thought the law was stupid and had fought to get it changed multiple times over the decades but still no one would budge on it.

It was just after he'd signed the paperwork for the Lovegood vaults and had started with the investment reports that the phone in his pocket began to ring. Harry hated the song that had been chosen specifically for his son's calls, and was quite embarrassed when he took it out and realized JARVIS must have overridden his settings because it should have been on vibrate.

The goblins were intrigued by his strange device, noting that it was not naturally magical in nature - save for the strange metal that made part of it's construction. Harry waved off their stares and replied simply, "My son's a genius billionaire with too much time on his hands. Excuse me."

He cast a few privacy spells and silencers before answering the phone and was greeted with a video call. Tony's face lit up with the HUD of his Iron Man helmet. And he did not look alright.

"Tony? What-"

"Just wanted to uh, see a friendly face."

"It's good you've called. I'm a little busy right now but later today I need to talk to you about-"

"About that pops," Tony said his eyes rapidly moving to read some display unknown to Harry. Harry frowned - Tony never called him that unless he was stressed. Clearly he was in the suit so of course...

"Son what's wrong?"

"You know that thing you did to end it?"

Harry frowned, his back straightening and his heart pounding so hard he could barely hear anything more than his rapidly climbing heartbeat and the blood rushing in his ears. Lips parted in a whispered protest so soft he was certain the man on the other end couldn't hear.

"Don't you bloody do it. There's always another way."

"Not this time, pops. I'm a Potter, right? This is what we do," Tony said, "Who knows, I might even get to see mom."

"Tony I-" but Harry's reply was cut off when the screen went black.

Harry screamed in a mixture of heartbreak and rage, shattering not only his own powerful privacy wards but also those on the conference room as he lost control of his magic for just a few brief moments. He reigned it back in, swallowing his anger and his emotions and hiding them behind steel-trap Occlumency barriers.

"Lord Potter we-"

"Is there any other urgent business," Harry said in as controlled a manner as he could manage. When none of his account managers said anything, he gave a small, curt nod. "We will postpone the remainder of this meeting for a later date," he said firmly in an attempt to keep his tone even. "Good day gentlemen."

Each step the powerful wizard took was accompanied by another crack in the marble floor as he strode out of the conference room. Passing through the doorway, slamming it behind him left cracks in the ancient stone walls. It wasn't the first time Lord Potter had caused such damages to their building, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. The goblins merely looked at one another and transferred funds from the account Harry had set aside for the purpose of repairs and other damages his magic tended to cause for those around him.

o0o

Tony didn't like owls.

He didn't like what they meant.

He especially learned not to like it when they had red envelopes clasped in their talons.

Most of all, Tony didn't like it when the damnable things would turn towards someone else in the room and say something rather nice to them before ripping themselves to shreds.

There really wasn't much he could do about it when the thing screamed at him in front of Pepper, Bruce, and Thor.

The black owl that brought it had perched high up out of his reach in the penthouse that was currently still in disrepair after the fight with Loki. It hooted at him, almost smugly, as it made itself comfortable.

"What the hell are you lookin' at you overgrown pigeon!" Tony snarled at the thing as Pepper stared at him, then the owl, then the red pile of torn up paper.

"Tony, what... what was that?"

"One of Harry's experiments," he snapped back bitterly, glaring at the bird before stalking out of the room.

The owl hooted after him, causing Thor to tilt his head some in thought. "I did not know the Man of Iron was of magical blood."

"What?"

o0o

The Battle of New York changed everything for the magical community. Though Loki was not one of their own, his blatant use of magic was hard to cover up.

And so it was that Harry Potter found himself in full uniform, face and voice obscured by his hood and the shadow distortion spell he used when concealing his identity, and sitting with his dragon-hide boots up on the table as a one-eyed pirate glared at him from the other end.

It also didn't help that Harry's presence at the meeting was a result of himself losing control of his magic and now he was only given two options. The most secure underground cell in Azkaban or exile to the muggles on behalf of the ICW. Specifically...

"I told you one way or another you were going to come work for me. Must suck that you can't erase my memory again," Director Fury said with a smirk.

Harry growled at him from beneath his hood. "Let's get one thing straight kid," he said. "I don't work for you. I'm here on behalf of the ICW because you knew you were supposed to hand over any magical artifacts to MACUSA. Or the nearest magical government to the location where the artifacts were found. Second, the moment you found out magic was involved it falls under the jurisdiction of W.A.R.D. and by taking it upon yourselves to handle the situation you broke all kinds of treaties between our people."

"You might be a big shot in your world, Agent, but you're-"

"The ICW was willing to overlook SHIELD this one time, Director Fury. A position that I persuaded them to take since this is the first time your kind have acted with blatant disregard for the treaties. I considered it extenuating circumstances."

"So what changed?"

Harry growled again, pulled his feet down from the table and planted them firmly on the floor before rising to his feet. One hand came back to lower his hood and in the process dispelled the illusion that protected his identity. "You muggles decided you can take on magic on your own, thus causing an alien invasion. As a result, my only child sacrificed himself to redirect a nuclear warhead into a portal to space. Tony spent what he believed to be his last moments in a phone call to me."

"Stark?! Stark is!-"

"Small world, isn't it?"

o0o

Six months after the Battle of New York and Loki's attempted take-over, the Avengers (minus Thor) were gathered in a conference room in the mostly rebuilt Stark Tower. Well, Avengers Tower now. At the other end of a conference table sat Agent Coulson with Fury on speaker.

The five had begrudgingly signed confidentiality paperwork (Tony had to be threatened into it until he read something he recognized and didn't particularly like that it was familiar to him) before anyone would say anything more.

When Tony's suspicions of the subject had been proven correct, he busied himself with his phone, digging boredly into SHIELD files to try and find a reason why the pirate and his pet Agent were briefing the team on the magical world. He watched his fellow tower dwellers from the corner of his eye as he carried on four conversations while JARVIS ran the file scans.

Natasha's eyes narrowed, but she showed very little in the way of recognition. Hawkeye was leaning forward with mouth slightly agape and Bruce sat back looking thoughtful as Coulson glossed over medical advancements made by the wizarding peoples.

But it was Cap's reaction that intrigued Tony the most. Over the last six months as the team bonded, worked, and lived together whether they wanted to or not, Stark had learned to read the oldest Avenger's face pretty well in most situations.

Cap was frowning in concentration, but not from a lack of understanding or bewilderment.

So much of the modern world surprised or shocked the man. But this? The fact that there were humans who could do the things Loki and even Thor could do? It didn't even seem to faze him.

"None of you actually believe this tripe do you?" Tony asked, his tone dripping with his usual disdain. "Don't tell me they had witches on broomsticks riding around back in the war."

"I've met one or two," Steve said. "Good for patching us up after a fight," and he left it at that.

Coulson retook control of the room before Fury could start in on them from the speaker in the center of the table. "They usually keep to themselves, but what happened with Loki shook them up-"

The door of the conference room banged open as a man in odd renaissance-like dress bustled in. "Sorry I'm late. I don't normally venture into the no-maj part of the world often. The lovely red headed woman helped me find the way up here after getting turned around in the basement. My name's Warren Kline and I'm your W.A.R.D. liaison with the International Confederation of Wizards. I and-"

"Who's Agent Grim?"

All eyes turned towards Tony while Fury could be heard groaning on the speaker line.

Mr. Kline blinked at him and smirked. "You must be Tony. I've been warned about you," he said. "Extensively." He set his briefcase on the table and waved his hand over it to disengage the locks and open it. He pulled out a file and handed it to Agent Coulson with a curt nod. "I trust you know what will happen if this falls into the wrong hands?"

"Of course. It took us over a year to... correct what Agent Grim did to the Director."

Kline smiled. Tony choked back a chuckle. Cap's frown only deepened and was added to with a subtle head shake of disapproval. Kline finally deigned to answer Tony's initial question. "Agent Grim has been assigned indefinitely to work with SHIELD on behalf of the magical community. His primary function is to ensure SHIELD and the no-maj governments obey the treaties so that there is no repeat of events from six months ago. He will also offer assistance, when necessary, against magical, mystical, paranormal, and phantasmagorical threats that are, for lack of better words, above your pay grade."

Before the conclusion of the meeting Fury ordered special accommodations for their newest Avenger. That is until a floor could be done meeting certain specifications for him to live comfortably in the tower with the rest of his new team.

o0o

Harry Potter quite liked his rooms on Bleaker Street. What he did not like, however, was the temporary roommate. Rather he did like him - very much so. He was quite handsome and very intelligent. The branch of magic the man specialized in was very fascinating as it allowed muggles to harness ambient magic and energy to use in place of a wizard or witch's natural magical core.

What he did NOT enjoy about his roommate was his attitude. He was very arrogant and reminded him greatly of the Malfoys. And Snape. But mostly Draco Malfoy.

In the three months he spent living with the so-called Sorcerer Supreme Dr. Stephen Strange, he had picked up a few tricks he quite liked and worked into his own magical repertoire while showing the man's colleague Wong a few of his own.

Though he never saw the monastery that these men had studied at, he made a point to write down everything he could pick up. He did this with the intent to pass it along to Hermione for further study as it may just be the perfect link between their own world and that of the muggles. He never left Bleaker Street without his uniform of course unless he was going to his small, modest flat in Brooklyn. Even then he made use of the sling ring he'd pilfered so that not even a street camera could pick him up outside of where he was meant to be. The flat was mostly to keep up appearances, as Harry hadn't wanted anyone who actually knew him to know he was also Agent Grim. Especially... well...

Only Agent Grim had confronted Captain America, and Harry rather wanted to keep it that way for the time being until he could sort out a favorable explanation. After all, neither of them had aged a day; though in Harry's case it was more because of time travel than it was his little quirk of being the Master of Death.

He was also very careful to keep his hood up with a durable sticking charm. This was in addition to keeping his face covered by using the shadowy distortion spell to protect his identity and alter his voice. He ensured he was never left entirely alone with the Captain either.

What pleased him the most was the accidental discovery made during Loki's confrontation with his son that magic, at least in moderation, could be used around Tony again. Something he was eternally grateful for. He couldn't use magic directly on the man - yet - but he could go near him without the damned arc reactor wanting to explode in the man's chest just because of the natural magic his own body put off in waves.

As he worked with the Avengers in his official capacity, and occasionally met with Tony outside of that for small chats and visits with family - well away from the prying eyes of SHIELD and the team - he got on rather well with them. Black Widow's continued attempts to discover his identity amused him to no end. Hawkeye's sense of humor reminded him much of the twins while Bruce reminded him a lot of Neville. A generally nervous, studious and kindhearted man who could at a moment's notice become an absolute beast in battle. True, Neville didn't grow large and green and filled with rage. But the quiet man had often fallen to the wayside as the determined and powerful Lord Longbottom showed his true might back during the war.

Harry saw a lot of himself in Tony, which made him both proud and worried all at once. It had taken the man a long time to settle into the selfless Potter nature. That damn stunt with the nuke didn't help either. But he was proud of the man Tony had become, though it took much tragedy for him to get there...

Something else the two men had in common.

But Cap... Steve... He was every bit as Harry remembered him to be save for his appearance. He was still kind, and strong, and had quite a mouth on him when you stopped to really listen. It never failed to catch him off guard to see the broad shoulders and large height when his brain still thought first of the scrawny punk at the sound of that voice. A voice that even all this time later made his heart race and his knees weak. Made his lonely nights just a little more enjoyable despite his solitude.

o0o

He had been living on the specially designed, nearly tech-less Floor 71 of the Avengers Tower for almost a full month before it had happened.

It wasn't like he'd expected to get a call since hardly anyone outside of Tony, Hermione, and occasionally one of his nieces or nephews even knew how to use the muggle phones.

The team had been caught up in a fight with cyborg acromantulas, and Harry had been rather busy dealing with the venomous bites given to Hawkeye when his phone went off. He swore under his breath as he used one hand to cast the spells drawing the venom out of the man's leg and with the other answered his phone, putting it on speaker without looking to see who had called.

"I'm off the fucking map so make it quick!"

"Well hello to you too old man. How do you kill the giant spiders that just won't stop?"

"What kind?"

"What was that one you guys had at school?"

"Is that Tony?"

"Birdbrain?!"

"Merlin's saggy tits... Use a bloody EMP to take out the tech and then aim for the nougaty centers. It's not fucking rocket science Tony!"

Before Tony could reply he hung up and shoved his phone back into the pocket of his battle robes. "Feel free to scream. This is going to hurt," he said, grabbing his wand and when the wounds ran clear he shoved the tip into one of the large holes from the acromantula's fang, having to dig deep into the wound in order to stitch the man back together from the inside out. It was a nasty piece of field triage, but it held up better than the basic healing spells he'd learned in Auror training.

By the time the battle was over, with the ones that could still stand picking bits of spider robots out of their hair and off their clothes, or in Tony's case his armor, four of them started off towards the tower once the SHIELD cleanup crews arrived. Hawkeye, despite Harry's battlefield medicine, still needed to lean a bit on Natasha as they staggered away.

Cap only stopped when he noticed they were two short and told the others to go on ahead and get themselves looked at. He went back the way they'd come to find Tony and Grim shouting at one another, with the wizard gesticulating wildly at him as Tony paced back and forth like an angry tiger.

"-even dare presume to know why I'm doing this! I never wanted to join the bloody pirate's band of merry men!

"So why the hell are you even here?!"

"I had nowhere else to go!"

"What?"

"It was either this or Azkaban!"

With that, Grim turned and used the strange ring on his gloved hand to open a golden portal to what looked like a house or an apartment of some sort before stepping through and closing the gap in reality behind him.

o0o

Tony avoided the issue.

Hawkeye, after crawling through the vents for hours every day for three days reported back that there was no way he could get into Grim's apartment. Sure he could reach the elevator entrance, which was a little room with JARVIS installed and all the high-tech bells and whistles. And he could get to the balcony landing which had the same save for a large perch housing an equally large black owl in a cozy corner and protected from the elements. But the actual living quarters.... were like a sealed off tomb. No matter how he tried Clint just couldn't get in.

Natasha had tried to crack the security, only to discover that there was none. Or rather, none that she could understand or discern.

Bruce could have gotten in if he'd wanted to - at least that's what everyone else thought considering Hulk's great strength - but he'd rather not get involved in whatever was going on.

And Cap...

Well... he had a different approach.

He waited and he observed his teammates like a good tactician should. And then one morning in the common dining area when Tony stopped by because his espresso machine in the penthouse was spitting nothing but old grounds again, he simply sipped his black coffee, turned the page in his newspaper, and asked Tony, "What is Azkaban?"

Bruce glanced up as Clint and Natasha looked from Steve to Tony and back again. Clint in slight confusion and Natasha trying to piece together a puzzle. She raised her spoon after licking the cherry yogurt off it and pointed it at them. "Neither one of you were surprised when we were pulled in for that briefing about Grim."

"Neither were you," Tony said with a raised brow.

"I was absorbing new information," she said. "Don't change the subject. You two already knew about all this magic stuff, didn't you? Long before Loki came to visit."

"There were a few soldiers back in the day. Orders were not to question it, so we didn't. As long as we were on the same side and they took out some Nazis, we didn't care much."

Natasha narrowed her eyes at Steve, dipped her spoon back into her yogurt with a thoughtful look before taking a bite, licking it clean, and turning it back to Tony. "Okay, plausible. But that doesn't explain-"

"I've got some contacts," was all he said as he got to his feet. "I'll be in the lab."

"You still haven't told me what-"

"You know what? When that self-righteous bastard shows back up, why don't you ask him."

Since the doors all slid open and closed in the place, the genius billionaire didn't get the satisfaction of slamming a door behind him when he left to go down to the labs. He initiated his Hocus Pocus protocols to keep anyone from peering in at him.

o0o

Harry hadn't been back to the tower since his argument with Tony after the acromantula mission. He'd used the sling ring he pilfered from his acquaintances at Bleaker Street to make a quick get-away to his Brooklyn sanctuary.

It was days before he'd activated his two-way mirror, similar to the set he had shared with Sirius, and called Hermione.

"I can't do this anymore," was the first thing he'd said before breaking down in a mess of snot and tears.

He was old - he didn't look it - but he was. And weary. Tired of fighting, tired of battle and blood and he just wanted to sit back and have a quiet life. The life he'd almost been able to have.

His visit to Gringotts the day of Loki's attack on New York wasn't his usual visit to go over his accounts. It was to determine how to pass on his titles and wealth without having to die since, apparently, he couldn't. As it turned out there was little need to figure it out. A perfect storm of Potter-level calamity had been brewing for some time against him as he more often than not had found himself siding with the Dark and Neutral families of the Wizengmont rather than the ones of the Light, the Light families being of the mind that more restrictions on certain types of magic were for the "greater good" and the total regulation of things that should have been left up to individual liberties.

It also hadn't helped that when he had become the Master of Death and unlocked his full magical potential he was seen as too powerful. Too powerful and too Dark to be left free. What had prompted him to finally retire and become a hermit in the countryside was an outright accusation from Lord Declan, a very staunch supporter of the Light like his father and a former fanatical devotee of Dumbledore, claiming that Harry had become a Dark Lord in his own right in the middle of an open session of the government.

It was luck, then, the Potter Luck, that had saved him from Azkaban after the call from Tony that day. Unable to control his magic he had sequestered himself into the Vault beneath the re-built Potter Manor. The Vault that until then had been able to contain the raw power that exploded out of him when he lost control. One third of the Auror force that was sent to haul him off on charges of dark magic and drummed up claims of his becoming a new Dark Lord, were crushed when Potter Manor came down around them.

The breaking of the Vault that had been buried beneath it left a smoking crater of twisted metal behind as Harry had blown it apart, believing his only child to have walked - or in Tony's case flown - willingly to his death like it were an old friend.

A further half of the forces were cut down as casualties - but no additional deaths - as he had made his escape to a WARD safe house. It was there he awaited word from the Goblins for sanctuary so he could figure out what to do next.

All of this weighed down upon him even as he had begun his new life among the Avengers. It had become too much, and so without a how do you do, Harry did what he always did when he couldn't face the world...

He pulled out his pocket mirror, and summoned the one person who could always get him to see things more rationally. And here he sat, the woman in the mirror starring at his raccoon eyes and pale, sickly face. "Oh Harry..." she muttered. "What did you do this time?..."

o0o

"He's been gone for three weeks and nobody's even bothering to look for him," Clint said from his perch up in the vent above the sofa of the common room. Poker chips occasionally dropping from the ceiling into red Solo cups scattered about as he practiced his aim.

Bruce tapped away on a tablet before picking up his pen and scribbling a few notes in the journal open on the arm of his chair. "Then it's a good thing we haven't needed him."

"So I looked into that Azkaban thing Cap was asking about," Clint said, tossing another poker chip into Natasha's empty coffee cup.

She peered into her cup and sighed. "You mean you beat up a few people and nobody had an answer."

"Something like that," he said, dropping down to the sofa and planting his rear end on the back of it, his booted feet on the center cushion. "The weird part is, most of 'em didn't have a clue what I was talking about. But there was this one guy over in the Bronx... Got really scared when I asked him."

"You sure it wasn't because you had an arrow in his face?" Bruce asked without looking up. "Because I tell you, that'll do it for most normal people."

Clint shook his head, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees, his hands dangling between them. "Yeah... nothing about this guy was normal though. He was dressed real funny-"

"Newsflash Clint, this is New York. And you were in the Bronx. To them, we're the ones dressed funny."

Natasha couldn't help but give a sly smile, clearly amused. "I mean, half our team dressed up like it's Halloween when we go out the door..." She cut her eyes over to Bruce. "If they bother to get dressed at all."

"It was one time," Bruce said, eyes flicking up to look at his team mates, a tint of green to them. "And it wasn't my fault Tony didn't have any stretch pants on the plane."

"Have you considered spandex?" Clint said, clearly picking at him for laughs. "It stretches with you and keeps the big green python covered so you don't scare Grandma while she's out doing her shopping."

"It was one time!" Bruce protested, rising from his seat. Clearly he wasn't going to be getting anymore work done today if he remained hanging around those two. "I'll be in my lab."

"Hey! If you see Tony will YOU ask him why he gets his panties in a twist about this whole Azkaban thing?" Clint called to his back as Bruce made to leave the room, stopping only because the door opened before he could hit the panel with his elbow for it. He stepped aside as Steve came in, giving the scientist a nod and a small smile.

"I would," Bruce called back to Clint. "But Pepper said he's spending the day in Brooklyn and won't be back until tomorrow unless called out to assemble."

Clint pouted. Natasha watched Bruce leave before turning her calculating gaze to Steve. She had grown bored waiting for a mission that called for her unique set of skills beyond jumping about and killing things. Perhaps a little field trip was in order and though it was severely out of date a little bit of local knowledge couldn't hurt.

"Hey Stripes," she said, catching Steve's attention from the bookcase he was browsing. "I'm getting cabin fever. Up for a trip to your old neighborhood?"

o0o

Tony had thought he was going to be spending time with one of his favorite cousins. He was wrong.

When the polyjuice had worn off and it was not Teddy sitting across from him at the ice cream parlor in Wizarding Brooklyn, but a rather annoyed Dr. Hermione Jean Granger-Weasley who had also drugged his ice cream to keep him from arguing with her, he knew he was in trouble.

When he found out her husband had pulled a similar ruse over on Harry but ended up having to knock him out using a cast iron skillet because the man kept breaking the body bind Ronald Weasley kept putting on him, well... he was at least amused.

Especially when they had clapped a pair of bracelets on the man to suppress his magic for twelve hours or when they decided to remove them - whichever came first - he was ecstatic.

Mostly because he was still pissed at his biological father for hiding the fact that all that time HE was Agent Grim. But also because an ocean away an entire couple of islands were shaking in their boots at the thought of Harry Potter having enough power to flatten a city if he got upset - yes, Tony was busy digging to find out what Harry's parting remarks to him had meant - and here was two old and crotchety magicals just manhandling the man as if he weren't a walking nuclear weapon.

"You two are going to take turns talking and listening. And so help me if I get another call in the middle of the damn night because neither of you can share your feelings then a Norse god trying to take over the world will be the absolute least of your problems, is that clear?!"

Ron stood silently beside his wife, arms crossed in front of him. He knew better than to get in the middle of this. When the woman really got going she was worse than Ginny on her worst day.

The two Potters mumbled under their breath.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

"Yes, Hermione," the two men intoned so nearly perfectly together that it came out as a short echo of one starting with the other finishing.

The woman glanced at her wristwatch and sighed. "We'll be in the next room having tea and foraging for something to eat," she said, turning to leave the room. "And don't bother trying to leave the apartment. I've secured all the windows and the front door."

o0o

They didn't talk for over an hour. Tony dicked around on his phone with his feet propped up on the arm of the love-seat he had stretched himself across, and Harry had plucked a book from his shelf to sit and read for a while.

They were too alike - too stubborn for their own good. Harry groaned, tossing his book to the coffee table and rubbed at his face in frustration. "I'm sorry, alright. I should have told you straight away that I was being assigned to SHIELD."

"What exactly is your job, Harry?"

"Exactly what you were told. To make sure SHIELD and the muggles don't violate the treaties aga-"

"No," Tony said, not even bothering to look up. "Your real job. Before we got stuck babysitting you." Harry didn't answer. So Tony just bulldozed right on. "I know you own stock in different magic stores or whatever. George's shop. A large share of Slugs and Jiggers, a few candy manufacturers in Hogsmede and Paris. Yeah, I've seen your business portfolio when I visited that dank old place of yours in London a few times. And yeah, I remember that whole government thing because you're some big shot Lord or whatever - but none of that really requires that you disappear for days on end. Sometimes weeks at a time." In seemingly one fluid motion Tony turned his entire body, his legs sweeping to the floor and his face turning up from his phone to stare Harry in the eye defiantly. "You never gave up your saving people thing and you're angry that I'm doing it, too."

"No. I'm very proud of everything you've done as the Iron Man."

"Except that one time. I could tell. You were upset. Angry even." He pocketed his phone now. "I had what I believed were only a few moments left to live. I could have called Pepper. Or Rhodey. Hell, I could have called down to my team on the ground. Instead I wasted that call on you. Because you of all people would get what I was trying to do."

"Tony, it's not like that."

"I think it is. All these months hiding right under my nose and you could have told me who you were. What you really do when you disappear to God knows where."

"What's the point of covert operations if I turn right around and tell you about them?" Harry snapped back. "Newsflash Tony, you're not the only one allowed to keep secrets! You think I wanted this job?! Do you want to know what I was doing when you called me that day? I was at the bank trying to sort out my bloody retirement! There's still papers at the London branch with the Lovegood vault manager waiting for my signature to finalize signing it over to you! I was already planning to move here to be closer to you and to get away from all the hypocrisy that is Magical Britain!"

Harry had risen from his seat, pacing back and forth on the other side of the coffee table and before the faux fireplace on the wall opposite Tony and the sofa.

Tony had risen, too, hands clenching at his side. He didn't fear being struck by magic, not since Harry was wearing the binders. But that didn't mean the old man didn't still pack a punch. "I don't need you to watch my back, old man! In case you haven't noticed, I'm all grown up no thanks to you. I don't need any of your magic to solve my problems when I've got this," he said, tapping the circle of gentle blue light beneath his shirt. "And I've got the Iron Man. So go have your weird ass wizard mid-life crisis elsewhere. Maybe try Azkaban. I hear it's nice this time of year."

"Don't even bloody joke about that."

"Why not? If here's so horrible that you have to hide your identity from me-"

"I wasn't hiding from YOU, you idiot!" Harry turned away from him, taking a few shaky breaths to steady his anger and conflicting emotions. "I was hiding from your team. I'm certain Clint is going to have questions about that phone call-"

"He's just trying to figure out how to crawl into your air ducts and is pretty upset that I took him into account and created a completely closed environment for Grim."

"I appreciate that," Harry said quietly.

Tony scoffed. "Saves me the effort of gutting another floor for when you visit."

Harry barked out a bitter laugh. "Well, since they're in town might as well show 'Mione and Ron my new digs."

"You won't be keeping this place though will you? It's so-"

"I happen to have a lot of happy memories in this apartment thank you very much," Harry snapped back.

"You've only been here a few months. How many happy memories could you have formed in that time?"

"Tony, if you bothered to look at the names of the past renters of this place for the last twenty years you'd realize I've been using this place a lot longer than that. It used to be a ICW safe house."

Tony frowned and took his phone out again. Yes, he'd been digging for files on the place since he'd first learned about it when he THOUGHT the man in front of him had come to live in New York by choice. As he skimmed through the list of past renters, the pattern made itself known. Different forms of the same name, different combinations. "Harrison Granger? Really pops? THAT'S the name you're using now?"

"I can't exactly use my real name when I'm working undercover and trying to keep out of prison now can I?"

"Yeah about that... What the hell did you do that would make them want to send YOU of all people-"

Harry's jaw set. His back stiffened and his shoulders went square. The change in him was immediate to the Avenger. It was the same reaction he often had whenever he found out his old weapons were still on the black market. Still being used by terrorists the world over... and other things he really didn't want to be reminded of.

"My containment vault failed. There is a new crater in the Scottish highlands and the Aurors are in desperate need of strapping new recruits."

"They think you went to the Dark Side don't they?"

"The only thing I'm missing is an overwhelming hatred of sand," Harry replied. He sighed, staring down at his wrists. "Go get 'Mione. These are starting to itch and I'd like to take them out to dinner since I drug your dear aunt and uncle all the way across the ocean for a pity party."

"You disappear for three weeks and call that a pity party? I'd hate to see what happens when you have a full blown tantrum."

"Oh, the headmaster's office sort of... explodes when that happens," he replied without missing a beat. "There was also the time I blew up Aunt Marge... Have I told you about her? Vernon's sister?"

"The one with the vicious dogs. Yeah, you did."

"Hm... I'll have to find a new story then."

o0o

They had roamed Brooklyn most of the afternoon and into the late evening. The trip was pointless in Steve's opinion. They had no idea where Tony could be, and Brooklyn wasn't much to go on. Then again he was feeling pretty restless in the tower, only leaving to go out and fight monsters, machines, and the occasional mad scientist. So he was pretty grateful for the chance to just get out and stretch his legs. Especially in territory that was a little more familiar than the rest of New York was.

Though his SHIELD furnished apartment was in Brooklyn, it was on the other side of it, the nicer side. The side where, when he was younger, you had to be born into money to be able to afford. But it was the little things in the shadier side of the borough he took comfort in. He delighted in finding a butcher's shop that was unchanged since the 40s, save for the modernizing of equipment inside. It was still owned by the same family, the old man behind the counter taking a good look at him and telling anyone who'd listen of the time he and a friend came in, bruised and bloodied, asking for some thick steaks to put over their eyes.

"I see the extra cuts I sent along did their job! Look at you now!" The old man hit his chest with a balled up hand, filled with pride for something he didn't know he wasn't responsible for. "A mountain of a man! I always said you needed to eat more. Put more meat on your bones!"

Natasha couldn't help but laugh at Steve's embarrassment as they bought two bottles of Coke before leaving, the old man still yammering on about how he used to sell steaks to Captain America.

"That was... entertaining."

"It can't get any worse than that," Steve muttered, bringing his bottle to his lips.

"Did people really do that back then? Buy meat to put on their-"

"It helped keep the swelling down. Plus afterwards you had a decent meal. Sometimes felt like I earned it."

"how often did you have to do that?"

"Too often. There's a bar about a block away that I'm still banned from."

"What?! Seriously?!"

"Seriously. Started a brawl when a dame told a guy no and he didn't take the hint. My buddy and I came here on the way home and sat on the curb nursing a black eye each." He pointed with the hand holding the bottle towards the curb, right by the sign telling people not to park in a loading zone before he took another sip. "There isn't a back alley or bar in Brooklyn from back then I didn't spill blood in. Mostly mine."

Natasha drank her Coke quietly, recalling notes she read in Captain America's personnel files. She'd thought they were exaggerating about his penchant for getting into fights on a regular basis prior to joining the Army. Apparently they did more to downplay it than they did to exaggerate. They walked around a while longer, Natasha listening to Steve wax poetic about the old days while she rearranged facts in her head about her teammate.

"We might as well head back," Steve said after the sun started to set. "I had a good time though."

"this wasn't a date."

"Never said it was," he replied. "Just two friends on a day out. Wish we'd found Tony though."

She shrugged, checking her phone for a moment. "I found him hours ago."

"What?"

She nodded. "After leaving an ice cream parlor with an older woman, he's been holed up in an apartment complex two blocks away from the over enthusiastic butcher. He hasn't moved since."

"How could you know that?"

She shrugged. "Surveillance footage places him outside the ice cream parlor this morning and showed him going inside. Time stamps on the footage of him leaving show he left at 12:27PM. Cameras followed him and the older woman traveling on foot to..." she checked her phone again. "Pleasant Oasis Apartments. There's cameras in the downstairs but none in the rest of the building. The isotope tracker we implanted shows he hasn't moved from one of the units since."

Steve stared at her, then frowned. "So we've been wandering around-"

"It's been... informative," she said, then added with a smile. "Besides, you looked like you could use some fresh air. With Tony keeping secrets and the Grim situation going on, you looked like you were a day away from doing something reckless." She shrugged. "I'd rather not have to deal with more contractors coming in to repair the damage a fight between Iron Man and Captain America might cause in the penthouse."

o0o

No one asked Tony about his day out to Brooklyn, despite Clint's desperation to find out what he was doing, who he was with, and why he never answered his text messages. He knew, sort of, where he went because Nat told him after she and Steve got back.

Bruce was just grateful Tony was back so Clint would leave him alone.

No one mentioned that two days afterwards Agent Grim had returned to the tower with a crack and a boom on the balcony that had some of them thinking Thor had dropped in for a visit.

"Visitors today," Grim's distorted voice said as he passed through from the balcony into what Clint had unofficially named the Avengers Commons - really it was just their shared living space and kitchen floor - before he disappeared into the elevator.

Steve was curious. Clint was ecstatic. Natasha was intrigued. Bruce could care less. And Tony had gone pale.

Six hours later the Avengers were in the Commons when Pepper Potts arrived from the elevator, chatting with an older woman while a red haired man around the same age trailed behind with Grim.

"I still can't believe all this time Tony's been going to see you in England not once has he offered to host you here in the states," Pepper was saying as Natasha lifted her head to see who she'd brought with her.

"My work keeps me very busy, and when I do manage to visit the US my free time is usually spent with my aunt."

"How is Ms. Carter these days? Tony tries to see her whenever he's in DC, but she keeps calling him Howard." Pepper asked as the pair passed Steve at the sofa where he sat reading.

"Not so good..." the older woman said back. This caught the super soldier's attention. What she said next was drowned out by laughter across the room. It was an eerie sound, the strangeness exaggerated by whatever magic it was that concealed Grim's face and voice.

Clint was hanging half-way out of a vent near the older red head and Grim, having popped out and given the older man a fright.

"So you're like him then. The whole pulling a rabbit out of a hat thing, yeah?"

"We don't-"

"Yeah. So's the wife," the man said, nodding towards Pepper and the other woman. "The three of us were at school together actually."

"Magic school?"

"Well, we are wizards. So... yeah."

Grim shook his head and sighed, smiling beneath his hood.

Clint looked from one man to the next before grinning. "Quick question," he said. "Been sort of a mystery the last couple of weeks since Houdini here took off and left us. What's Azkaban?"

The archer watched as all the color drained from the older man's face. Blue eyes narrowed then he turned his head to look into the featureless shadows of Grim's hood. "You told them?"

"It... sort of slipped out when I was yelling at Tony."

"Why were you yelling at Tony?"

Grim shook his head. "Not now. We'll talk later after I show you my floor here in the tower."

Clint raised an upside down brow. "Still didn't answer my question."

Beneath his hood, Harry rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I'll let you handle this one, Ron," he said as way to excuse himself. He looked around the Commons. Hermione was in deep conversation with Pepper. Natasha had joined them at the dining table. Steve sat on the sofa, still. But he wasn't turning the pages in his book. Tony was likely hiding either in the penthouse or the lab. And Bruce was watching TV in one of the chairs.

Grim pulled another chair closer to the glass coffee table before conjuring a wizard's chess set. "Fancy a game, Steve?" he asked. The super soldier closed his book and scooted forward on the sofa. Harry watched as he set the book down beside the board and watched the pieces flailing their little weapons around.

"This is... an interesting set. I don't think I've ever seen one quite like it."

"A muggle wouldn't usually. But since everyone in the room save Miss Potts has clearance, it couldn't hurt to show off some of our toys now would it."

"Any special rules I should know?"

"Not really. It's just like muggle chess really. Just with extra entertainment."

Not five minutes later Steve shouted in surprise as one of Grim's pawns was shattered by one of Steve's knights. "Do they normally do that?!"

"Oh yes. It's all part of the fun."

"At least it's not life sized," said a woman's voice as she seated herself beside Steve. "It's been nearly 50 years and I still have nightmares about that thrice cursed chess set."

Grim chuckled. It was... an unsettling sound to say the least. "Well, at least you didn't have to meet what was on the back of Professor Quirrell's head," he said as he moved another piece, watching in delight as his own knight got revenge for his fallen pawn.

She hid her smile behind her hand. "Didn't Fred and George throw snowballs at his turban during the winter holidays?"

"If they only knew... Hey! That was my bishop!"

Steve grinned. "Then you should have been paying attention instead of chatting away."

o0o

Later after Grim had retired with the two magical guests to floor 71, it was Bruce that asked the others at the dinner table, "Did anyone get their names?"

"Not... not really. I think the man's name was Ron," Clint said.

"Yeah..." Natasha said.

Steve pushed his mashed potatoes around his plate. "They did mention two guys named Fred and George. And a teacher."

"Squirrel?"

"Quirrell I think. Weird name."

The heroes were quiet again until Clint gathered the dirty plates for the dishwasher and then brought out slices of pie for everyone but Natasha, who wanted a pudding. "Anyone else think it's weird that the moment Tony found out they were coming he took off?"

Natasha nodded. "Yeah. It's obvious he knows them. You would think he might want to visit while they were in town."

Steve was quiet, listening to his friends and teammates talk as he ate. He thought back on the evening and his chess game with Grim. He'd never heard the man laugh so much. Hell, he hadn't heard the man laugh at all and wondered what it actually sounded like without the weird magic hiding him from them. He was... friendly. Warmer than he usually was.

"You guys know what this means, right?" he heard Clint ask, and looked up to see the man waving his fork at them as he spoke, a piece of apple speared through on the end. "Tony must know those two. The guy said they went to school with Grim. Maybe we can get them to tell us about Grim because Tony won't."

"I doubt it. That woman was tight lipped on anything too personal," Natasha said.

Clint grinned widely. "Yeah? Not her husband. I know what Azkaban is."

That caught all three of his teammate's interest. "Really?" Steve asked. "So, what is it?"

"Magic prison."

"What?!"

Clint nodded sagely as he sat back against his chair, shoving the apple piece into his mouth and letting his friends sit and contemplate what that meant.

Steve frowned and stared down at the bottom crust of his pie. "Whoever he is," Steve said when Bruce and Natasha had settled back down. "Whatever he's done... can any one of us at this table say we haven't got things in our pasts that aren't exactly ideal for superheroes?"

Natasha nodded, glancing at Clint before turning her full attention to Steve. "The rest of us have red in our ledgers. What's got you so full of guilt? You get caught stealing a candy bar?"

"I should have been court marshaled not celebrated. I wasn't even actually combat trained when I raided that HYDRA base and freed those men. I went AWOL." He sighed. "Look, my point is everyone at this table's done something that should have seen us sitting behind bars."

Bruce nodded. "I'm still not welcome in Harlem."

"See! And yet I think you're one of the strongest, bravest, and kindest people I know. All I knew about you before we met was what your SHIELD file said. I think the same could be said for the rest of you. But your actions spoke a heck of a lot louder. Grim's... different. But he's one of us. And until his actions prove otherwise..." He shrugged. "I'll reserve my judgment."

Clint shrugged. "Okay, but get this. The guy told me they used to have these prison guards there that people like us can't see. But apparently they're these magical creatures that can suck your soul out. Right from your mouth."

"Like some kind of vampire for souls?" Bruce asked.

"I don't know. But supposedly you know one's nearby because everything gets mega cold and everyone gets depressed suddenly..."

And the conversation went on.

And Steve pondered the enigma that was Grim, his guests, and Tony Stark.

o0o

Pepper was surprised to be invited to floor 71 for dinner.

No one was allowed on floor 71 beyond the entrance at the elevator. Agent Grim had made that quite clear from the very first day.

She was even more surprised to see Tony standing in the receiving area of floor 71 waiting for her with a pint of ice cream under his arm.

"I was about to ask JARVIS to get Happy to get you."

"I just went to change."

"You look nice," Tony said. "You looked nice before but-"

"Quit while you're ahead," she said. "So, dinner? Here?"

"Yeah. Family is in town."

"Yes. I met them when they arrived. Very nice couple." She was about to say more when the door across from the elevator clicked and then swung open. The woman from before stood there with a broad smile on her face.

"Oh good, you brought ice cream!"

"Of course I did. You can't serve warm apple pie without ice cream."

"Americans..." she said, rolling her eyes but smiling cheerfully nonetheless before she moved aside. "Well, come in then! He's almost done in the kitchen." She shut the door behind their guests and called out to her husband. "Ronald! Tony and his girlfriend are here! Set the table!"

"Why do I gotta set the table?!"

"It's just a swish and a flick Ronald. It's not like I'm asking you to do it the muggle way!" she called back.

Pepper leaned in close to Tony as the woman took the ice cream from him. "Are they always like this?" she asked him softly.

"They're worse at home," Tony said, letting the smile fall from his face the moment they were left alone. He turned to Pepper and took both her hands in his, holding them up even with his chest.

"Oh no," she said. "The hand thing. You always do this when you're about to do something really stupid."

"I'm not doing anything."

"Oh you're going to."

"No. I thought this would be reassuring. It's not reassuring?"

Pepper blinked at him with an incredulous look on her face. "Reassuring? When has this ever been reassuring? I just told you that you do this when you're going to do something stupid. You do this with our hands and I immediately think I need to see the shrink about my anxiety medication because I don't think I can handle any more of your reckless-"

"Heroic-"

"Wild-"

"Okay I'll give you that one," Tony said.

"Horrible life decisions-"

"Most of those were not my fault. They came on to me."

She stared at him, jaw dropping but no words coming out. It was just as well...

"Guys, dinner's ready."

Tony sighed and dropped Pepper's hands. "And that was what I wanted to tell you not to freak out about..."

"HADRIAN?!"

The man smiled and untied the apron around his waist before draping it over his arm. "What have I repeatedly asked you to do, Miss Potts?"

Regaining the ability to speak, she smiled brightly. "I'll call you Harry when you call me Pepper."

"Well then Pepper," he said. "I hope you like lamb chops."

"Ooo Did you make the little-"

"Yes Tony. I made the tiny purple potatoes," Harry said. "And yes I used the tarragon and basil sauce you like."

As the evening progressed, Pepper was thrown for quite a loop. Everything she had thought she knew about her boss-slash-boyfriend's family was only a fraction of the truth she learned that night. She knew, of course, that when it came to magical people like Thor and Loki that their physical appearance and actual numerical age were impossible for mere humans. But finding out that Harry, who was also the mysterious Avenger called Agent Grim, whom she had believed all this time to be the woman across from hers nephew, was in fact sixty years old.

And unlike Captain America, he wasn't frozen in ice for most of that time. He was alive and walking around with other people. Living his life as everyone else around him got older and aged.

But that... that wasn't even the biggest revelation of the night.

After dessert they moved to sit in a large room filled with old books, antique but comfortable looking furniture, and a very realistic looking, but fake, fireplace.

"I like what you've done with the place," Tony said as he settled onto a love-seat next to Pepper, accepting a bottle which the woman eyed suspiciously. He rolled his eyes. "It's not beer. Or wine. Or anything you've ever probably heard of and only has trace amounts of alcohol."

"Good," she said. "But what is it? From here it smells a bit like butterscotch."

"Butterbeer," Harry said, accepting one of his own from his dear friend before she sat down with a glass of wine next to her husband. "It's an acquired taste. But a very popular drink for teen where we come from."

"And Tony actually likes it?... Wait..." She turned some to look at him better. "She handed you something. And you took it. You hate people handing you things unless it's me. Or Happy. Sometimes James."

"It's a very short list of people," Tony said. "Bruce is on that list now, too."

"Good to know."

"So's my dad."

Harry nearly choked on his drink. Hermione giggled and Ron tried not to laugh but failed.

"But Howard-"

"I didn't say Howard."

"What?"

"Howard's not my dad."

"Yes he is."

"No he's not."

"Pretty sure it says on your birth certificate that he is."

"And it's a fake."

"No... it's authentic. It's been checked many times."

"Yes it's authentic. It was filed after I was illegally adopted."

Pepper turned to the others. "Are you sure there isn't anything in his drink?... Oh God. Those mushrooms at dinner... those weren't-"

"They were normal shiitake mushrooms," Harry reassured her. "Tony, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I'm trying to be honest. She's always telling me to be more honest with her. Especially after the Loki thing. And YOU," he said, pointing at Harry accusingly. "Told me yesterday that you needed more friends. Two birds with one stone. If you won't let the rest of the team know about you, then I tell Pepper. I can't hide anything from her for long anyway."

The woman in the middle sighed. "You're not going to tell me you're a wizard, too, are you Tony?"

Ron decided now was a good time to put his foot in. "Tony? A wizard?! Oh no. He's practically a muggle himself."

"Muggle?"

"Non-magical human," Hermione clarified. "What Ronald means to say is that Tony is not a wizard. He is a squib." She held up her hand to stay the next question. "A squib is the child of magical parents who has no magic themselves."

"So... Howard's not his dad and Maria had an affair."

"Oh no, she's not my mother either."

"So you're not actually Tony Stark?"

"Of course I'm Tony Stark. My name was changed when Howard and Maria adopted me as a toddler. I didn't know my real parents until I was seventeen when Aunt Peg helped me track them down."

"Ms. Carter knew this entire time?" she asked, then shook her head and turned to Harry. "Where do you keep the good stuff? I need something stronger than a glass of red."

By the time Pepper understood the tangled mess that was Tony Stark's family tree, and was able to wrap her mind around the fact that Harry was actually Tony's biological father even though he looked half Tony's age, she had already single handedly downed a third of a bottle of vodka.

"So THAT'S why you won't show your face to the rest of the team!" Pepper exclaimed drunkenly.

Harry, who'd downed half a bottle of firewhisky himself during the convoluted conversation of the evening shook his head vehemently and slurred a bit when he spoke. "Nah.... I don't give a shite about the rest of 'em. I just can't face Steven."

"Steve? Why him?" Pepper asked as she set her empty glass down precariously on the corner of the table.

"Because he's so... pretty. With his perfect teeth and his perfect hair and his perfect skin. He wasn't always like that though," Harry said, draped over his chair with a leg hanging off one of the arms. "When I met him, he was this scrawny little thing."

"Before? You're old, but you're not... You're not that old," Pepper said.

Harry giggled. "Magic. Can't say how, exactly. Because magic oath won't let me. Damn thing. But I met him. And I kissed him."

"Is he a good kisser then?"

"Dunno. I hid in my room," Harry replied with a giggle. "It was just- It was just the one time though. But Merlin I love that man. But he thinks I'm either really old or died in the war. Or something."

"You WHAT?!"

Harry turned a bit red. Pepper turned to Tony who'd been dozing on the love seat beside her while Hermione and Ron had fallen asleep against each other in front of the fake fire. "I think it's sweet," Pepper said. "Look at him Tony! He's so pitiful. We're lucky. We have each other," she said. "But Harry's got nobody since your mom."

"Luna," Harry said. "Luna was a sister to me. But I loved her. Like my sister. Anything else we don't... we don't talk about. But God above, if only Steven liked men. I'd... I'd..."

"Take him to a movie!"

"Exactly! But as boyfriends and not just friends. We did that once, too. Went to a movie."

"Oh? What'd you see?"

"A Sherlock Holmes thing. Basil... Basil something."

"Basil Rathbone! My dad loves those!"

o0o

Harry woke up the following day with a splitting headache and a message waiting for him when he left the safety of floor 71.

"Mr. Grim," JARVIS said politely to him in the elevator. "Master Stark would like to remind you that last night you professed your undying love for Captain Rogers."

"What?"

"He also said this will teach you not to get that drunk again." The elevator stopped at the Commons floor and the doors opened. "Have a good day, Mr. Grim," JARVIS said and the wizard could swear he heard a bit of smugness in the electronic voice.

When he stepped out for the others to see him, his hood up and his face and voice concealed, he smelled bacon, and coffee.

He sat down at the table with the others and saw Tony sitting at the far end, a grin on his face and his voice a little too loud. "How's the head, Grim? Need anything for it?... That's right, you magic types don't use aspirin or Tylenol."

Clint looked from Tony to Grim. "Oh? What do they use?"

"Say Grim, got any hangover potions handy?"

Grim groaned and leaned forward to smack his forehead against the table.

"What's wrong with the goth boy?" Natasha asked as Pepper came out of the elevator, a pair of large and tacky sunglasses shielding her eyes from the light. The spy looked from one to the other, then to Tony and smiled. A sight that caused Clint to flinch. "Did they get wasted without us?"

"Oh absolutely," Tony said. "Grim can't hold his liquor."

"I can so," he grumbled. "I just drink harder stuff than you do."

"Really?"

"Firewhisky can kill a muggle."

"Yeah," Tony said chipperly and loudly. "It's that whole literal liquid fire thing that kills them. No magic to protect them from drinking a Molotov cocktail."

Grim lifted his head and growled at him. "Watch it, squib. Otherwise I'll show your friends exactly what happens when a squib drinks too much of it."

"you wouldn't."

"I made my first kill at age eleven. Fucking try me Tony."

"Eleven?... Color me impressed," Natasha said, genuinely impressed with the information.

Clint glanced towards the end of the table. Steve... tried not to picture a child in the same dark coat with moving shadows for his face killing a man in cold blood. "Eleven?" he asked. Grim nodded.

"Oh yes," he said. "It was after the giant chess game. He had an evil wizard attached to the back of his head."

Tony leaned forward and set his cup down. "That doesn't count and you know it."

"Oh? Then the 60 foot long basilisk just stabbed itself in the brain when I was twelve."

"Okay I'll give you that one. But it wasn't a sentient creature."

"Have you met a basilisk? Spoken to one?"

Clint watched, his head turning back and forth like he were watching a tennis match up close. "That's a giant snake right? I read somewhere that those were mythical giant snakes."

"Not myths," Natasha said. "We had a baby one in training. Don't ask why."

"Wasn't going to."

Pepper grabbed Tony by one ear and pulled him from the table. She dragged him around the table then reached into Grim's hood, felt around for an ear, and grabbed it tightly. "I am too hung over for this. The both of you are coming with me and we're sorting this out right now." She dragged both men to the elevator. "JARVIS. Find us somewhere private."

"Master Stark's private lab will suit your purposes Miss Potts. I have taken the liberty of initiating the Hocus Pocus Protocols."

She mouthed the words before looking at Tony, whom she still held by the ear. She raised a brow, but it was hidden by her large sunglasses.

"For when I'm working on magic stuff."

"Ah. I see. Thank you JARVIS. That's perfect."

When the rest of the team saw both Grim and Tony later, having been called out to fight giant radioactive ants controlled by a mad scientist seeking world domination, both men seemed to have been behaving better. Or at least, they did so in front of the others.

The moment they got back to the tower, Pepper was waiting for them. "Lab. Now. We're not done yet."

"Yes mother," they had both intoned and followed her to the elevator... Tony not even bothering to shed his suit.

The others watched on, stunned at what they had just seen.

"Do you think," Bruce started after the four remaining Avengers came back to their senses. "Pepper knows what he looks like?"

"They were both hungover this morning and Tony knew all about it," Clint said. "I can crawl around the vents... maybe have a look..."

"You do that," Natasha said as she checked her watch. "I'm getting a shower before my movie starts."

"Just DVR it like I do," Bruce said.

"It's the satisfaction of catching it the first time," she replied.

"Guys something's been bothering me most of the day... do we still not know who the other two last night were?" Steve asked as all four stepped into the elevator.

Three sets of eyes turned to look at him. "What other two?"

"The old couple in their sixties?"

Clint laughed. "Are you sure you're doing alright Cap? That ant did hit you pretty hard in the head with his mandible-"

Natasha smirked. "Or you're just getting old and senility's setting in."

Steve shrugged it off, or tried to. Something wasn't right here. He'd have to ask JARVIS later when he was alone.

o0o

JARVIS had no answers for Steve other than "Mr. Grim's guests are still in the building." When pressed further, all JARVIS would say is that "Mr. Grim's guests have not left Floor 71 by either exit."

"There are two ways to get into that floor?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"The elevator and the balcony. However, the balcony is primarily for deliveries."

o0o

When his guests did finally emerge from Floor 71 and they were brought to the Commons, it was like meeting them for the first time for the rest of his team. Save Tony, who was not present.

He did keep his mouth shut, however, to observe his teammates and the guests. This time, it was a far more formal affair with Grim introducing each of the team members to his friends.

"And this is Captain Rogers, better known as Captain America," Grim said to his guests. The man offered his hand and the woman smiled politely as she offered her own after.

"Team," Grim said. "These are two of my oldest friends and colleagues from England. Mr. Ronald Weasley and his wife Dr. Hermione Granger-Weasley."

"Granger?" Steve blurted out without thinking.

"Yes?" Hermione asked, her brown eyes seeming to twinkle.

"Sorry, ma'am. It just surprised me is all."

"How so?"

"My family and yours knew each other from Ireland, before mine came to America."

"Oh. Fascinating. I'd forgotten you were alive before I was born. I would love to sit down and discuss what for you is still recent events. Outside my work with the ministries and magical governments I'm a bit of a scholar. My parents were both muggles... I believe they are called no-maj here though." She looked to Grim, who nodded.

The woman's husband sighed and shook his head. "Great going mate. She'll be gone for hours at this rate. Fancy a fly?"

"I don't have a spare broom," Grim said, causing Clint to gape at them.

"You actually ride brooms! Like proper witches!?"

"Wizards, Birdbrain," Grim replied. "And yes. There's even a whole sport built around it. But don't ask about the pointy hats." This got a laugh from most of his team.

Steve, however, kept his attention on Dr. Granger-Weasley. "I think I might have known your father, or maybe an uncle."

"Really now?"

"Yeah. I met a guy back during the war. Well, before I ever joined up. His name was Granger. Had some trouble back in England and was ordered by his superiors to go into hiding for a while. He said he worked for British Intelligence."

"My father was in the military, but he served in France. My uncle on my father's side died very young. Too young to have gone into the service." She paused and glanced towards Grim. Steve didn't miss the redirection of her eyes, even as she spoke to him. "Perhaps he was a cousin from my grandfather's brother's line. We still had some family in Ireland at the time. Did he give his first name?"

"He introduced himself as Hadrian, but asked that we call him Harry."

She narrowed her gaze and gave a tight nod. Her frown was fleeting, and quickly replaced by a smile. "Well, Granger was a somewhat common surname at the time. And so was Harry and it's variations. If he truly was an intelligence officer in hiding then it's likely he gave you a false name." She watched as his expression seemed to fall. "But," she added. "It's very likely that his personality and actions during the time you knew one another were genuine."

They moved on to other topics, mainly what it was like growing up through the Great Depression. Unlike most that Steve would talk to about the past, Hermione remained eager to hear more.

Before the elder couple left, she gave him a business card and told him to call her while they were in town as she would very much like to hear more about his life before he became Captain America.

o0o

"Reducto!" Agent Grim shouted, whipping his wand arm around to destroy the drone that was bearing down on them.

"Thanks!" Clint said as he lined up another arrow and let it fly, taking out the robot that was about to ambush Natasha on the ground below.

Grim nodded and reached up to tap his earpiece, activating his coms. "Please tell me you dunderheads have managed to crack the vault door by now."

"Well if someone still had their magic ring," came Tony's sarcastic voice. "I wouldn't have to hack into the security system."

"Well it was a good idea at the time!" Grim snapped at him. The alligator man biting his hand off two months ago was still a sore subject as it had only been recently he had regained use of that hand even with magic. "Where's Hulk? We could really use him to smash some stuff right about now."

"He's not with you?"

"I thought you'd be using him to break into the vault," Grim replied. "Shit."

"I'm out!" Clint announced, firing off a few more arrows, emptying his quiver.

"Double shit," Grim simply stated, dropping off the coms. He summoned some nearby debris and transfigured it into more arrows for his friend. "Hulk's gone AWOL. Tell Nat to pull back towards the bank and keep watch on Tony and Steve's backs."

"What the hell are you going to do?"

Grim grinned beneath his hood and pulled out his backup wand. "I'm hunting a jolly green giant," he replied and with a crack of sound that reminded Clint of a gunshot, he was gone.

o0o

The hostages were freed from the vault, but there was no sign of the mastermind behind it. Just as Iron Man and Captain America were bringing the last of the hostages to safety, Hawkeye spotted a bright flash, followed by a large explosion four blocks south. This was followed by a mighty roar the Avengers couldn't help but recognize.

Clint went on the coms. "Grim. Grim buddy. I think we found your jolly green giant."

There was no response. Only static. Black Widow and Hawkeye were tasked with securing the area until backup from SHIELD arrived. Iron Man and Cap headed south. One on foot and the other in the air.

o0o

Hulk did the only thing he could do when the blast happened. He slammed the wall he'd been holding up to the ground to protect the people that were nearly crushed by the weight of the wall he'd caught.

Making a difficult choice, Grim chose to strengthen the wall rather than protect himself. His smaller body was thrown back, slamming through vehicles and walls until he came to a stop at last and fell to the ground in a burning, broken heap.

Seeing this, Hulk roared and leapt out of the safety behind the wall and spotted the only thing still standing in the crater that resulted from the blast. A man but not a man. Red hot and rapidly cooling. Reforming as glowing hot cracks in his flesh fused themselves back together.

Hulk did not care about the heat as he reached for the man, intending to smash him into the ground. But as the massive fists came down, there was the sound of a car backfiring, and the man was suddenly gone.

Hulks giant fists smashed impotently into the ground as Iron Man and Captain America showed up, stopping at the edge of the crater in shock.

"Okay this was not what I was expecting to find," Tony said.

Steve looked to the scorched wall and the people cowering behind it. "Tony, get the civilians out of here."

"And the big guy?" he asked, even as Hulk was following the trail of destruction to his fallen comrade.

"I'll handle the big guy," he said, taking off after said big green guy.

He caught up to him a he was picking up a limp body from against a wall. "Little wizard try to save Hulk. Hulk not save little wizard. Little wizard die."

The large beast cradled the broken and charred body and turned away from the blood smear that trailed down the wall, not knowing that even as they left the scene of destruction, Agent Grim was already healing from his injuries.

o0o

Agent Coulson had the transport redirected from the SHIELD morgue to the helicarrier much to the confusion of Agent Hill.

When questioned, all he would say was "You'll see."

o0o

The Avengers were called out seven times during the following two weeks to deal with mysterious explosions similar to the one that had killed their colleague. Of all the Avengers, only Tony seemed to be unaffected by Grim's death. Hell, he was more affected by the kidnapping of the re-branded War Machine than he was the death of Grim.

Then again anyone that knew Tony also knew the man didn't handle the death of others well.

The Weasley couple had been by, visiting Floor 71 and the labs each time, but took nothing with them. No one else could enter beyond the inner door of Agent Grim's private floor. Not even Tony.

After two weeks, and a break in the case of the exploding men, they finally cornered whom they believed to be The Mandarin. This belief was, however, dispelled when one of the half naked women at his side, seemingly blissed out on drugs, handed him a can of beer.

After the man had taken a nice big swallow, the woman gave a feral grin and, ignoring the Avengers who held them pretty much at gunpoint, began asking him questions. Questions the man felt strangely compelled to answer. Once she got her answers, she asked one more question.

"Be a dear Trevor and tell me if you know where the real Mandarin is hiding our good friend Captain Rhodes."

"Who?"

"Oh sweet Circe... Iron Patriot. The guy that was inside. Do you know where he is?"

"No?... But I might know if you show me your tits again sweetheart." The woman rolled her eyes and got up, pulling on a robe over her lingerie. "He's all yours heroes. The serum will last another... fifteen minutes or so. He can't lie to you until it wears off."

"And where do you think you're going, ma'am?"

"Back to my investigation, which is far above your pay grade. I've just wasted one week with this jerk waiting for something big to happen. I'm not about to let some of my leads go cold now. You might want to hurry. The clock is ticking."

The woman cast a few quick and dirty wandless concealment charms before slipping out of the room. Only Tony and Steve saw her leave.

o0o

Grim stood side by side with Coulson and watched the carnage below.

"I have a feeling this might have been less messy if we'd just let Tony handle it," he said as Hulk smashed through a stack of shipping containers.

"Maybe. But then we wouldn't have been able to help W.A.R.D. with that little black market dragon organ problem."

Grim sighed beneath his hood.

"We received an interesting message by owl on the helicarrier this morning from Dr. Granger-Weasley."

"Oh?"

"She knows you're not dead."

"Of course she does. My whole family knows. Fuck, even Tony knows."

"Yes. Your relationship to Tony was added to our hard-copies of the files when you were reassigned."

"Why not digital?"

"Because that would break the treaty," he said, wincing as he watched Captain America take a blast to the chest, prompting Iron Man to fire off some repulsors.

"Anything else in that message from my dear Hermione?"

Phil thought a moment before asking, "Does Steve Rogers have magicals in his family tree?"

"No. We've checked. Say what you want about my people and their backwards ways... but we are extremely obsessive about bloodlines and heritage."

"I thought so. We've checked as well. There's an odd theory Howard Stark had back in the seventies. He noticed Tony saw things no one else did."

"Yeah. Because he's a squib."

"Apparently he noticed Steve Rogers exhibited some of the same behaviors that Tony did."

Grim frowned, but it had nothing to do with watching Black Widow pinned down before Hulk charged in and steamrolled the exploding ex-soldiers away from her.

"He still does. Despite not being what did you call it? A squid?" Coulson added. "Just food for thought."

"And all this was prompted by a letter?"

"A letter from a woman who recognized some of the magic placed on Captain America that no one else seems to be able to sense. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

Harry growled. "Screw this. I'll be at my safe house if you need me. I still feel the need to scrub myself from head to toe after a week with that pervert."

Coulson smiled indulgently after him. "I still need your report by 9AM Mr. Potter! And give my best to Dr. Strange!"

"Fuck off, Phil!"

o0o

They weren't sure exactly what had happened.

The elevator opened up on the Commons and the team trudged wearily. Tony was held up by the bottom half of his armor. Bruce and Natasha carried Clint between them as Steve dragged in an exhausted Rhodes who'd been filling in from time to time since Grim had died.

The same moment the elevator door had opened so, too, did the french doors to the balcony.

"And the next thing we knew," Rhodes was telling Pepper as the pair of them stared out the gaping hole where the balcony doors once were, "Clint's down in the floor, dragging Nat with him. Tony's taking a flying leap after Bruce and Steve's not really sure what to do with me. But there was a green blur and..." He gestured to the gaping hole. "This."

"JARVIS, do we have a location on the big guy yet?"

"Yes Miss Potts. It appears that the Hulk has cornered Mr. Grim near Master Stark's favorite doughnut shop."

Pepper frowned. "Oh no... I hope they don't wreck the place."

"Wait? He's alive?!"

"Oh yeah."

"And you knew? Who else knew? Did Tony know?"

"Of course Tony knew. I'm actually surprised you didn't. Don't you have clearance through the military to know about the wizards and all that magic stuff?"

"There's only one wizard I know of that could survive a nuclear detonation to the face."

Pepper smiled and turned away from the hole. "I'll have maintenance come up and board this up until we can get the window and door guys in to fix it. I'm famished and Tony's still down in the training room with Cap. Want to come with me and Happy for dinner?"

"Okay, but not that Thai place again."

"We were thinking more along the lines of barbecue."

o0o

The doughnut shop did not survive.

But Grim did. Or, as the big guy liked to call him "Little Wizard Man".

By the time the Hulk got his rage issues out of his system and Bruce was able to get control back, the two men picked themselves up out of the wreckage, Grim obliviated half the street, and they hobbled their way back to the tower for a stiff drink.

Nicely buzzed is how Steve, Clint, and Nat later found the pair of them. Bottles labeled "Ogden's Finest" scattered around the dining table as the two men attempted to scientifically explain how magic was able to work without utterly destroying the laws of physics.

Natasha picked up one of the bottles. "Firewhisky?"

"This man drinks napalm!" Bruce exclaimed, quite happy with the drunken buzz he had been unable to feel from normal alcohol for quite a long time.

The man with shaggy black hair and bright green eyes grinned, uncaring that his face was fully exposed for the first time in the presence of his fellow Avengers. "I have never met a muggle that this shite didn't kill."

"You can't kill me. I'm the Hulk!" Bruce replied. "I can't even kill me!"

Three voices asked something at the same time. Two exclaiming in surprise, "How are you alive?!" The owner of the third voice stared wide eyed in shock. "Harry?!"


End file.
